Aces: Mercenaries of Hell
by SpottedStar
Summary: The air was filled with enemy's and allies hard to find. The wind of realization blew cold upon the faces of the targeted aces. No one was safe and everyone was fair game. This is the tale of Solo and Omen, daughters of Pixy and the Demon Lord.
1. Solo

**Aces**

**Mercenary's of Hell**

Summeray: It's been 17 years since Cipher dissappeared, and the only person who knows where he's at is Pixy. They both live average lives now and both have a daughter. Both girls enjoy flying and are skilled pilots, even at the ages of 15. But when they decide to join the Galm Mercenary Squad, you can be sure that sparks are going to fly. With Cipher's daughter, Melondy, going by the ace name, Omen, and Pixy's daughter, Regina, as Solo Pixy, they dogfight their way to the top. But not all mercenary's can stay true, and soon the girls are sent into the ultimate death roll: Kill or be killed. R&R please!

----

"We all know the three kinds of Aces...mercenary...soldier...and knight, but did you know that there's a fourth kind. Yes my friend there is a story behind the fourth ace style, and if you sit down I will tell you the long tail. Okay...comfortable...alright, here goes. It all started on that warm summer evening..."

----

"Yo Omen, I don't think we're suppose to fly here, we're pretty far away from Directuis." I tried to hide the worry in my voice, I'd been in trouble for flying in a restricted airspace before. Needless to say, I was lucky my father still let me fly my F-15E Strike Eagle. "I don't want to get into any major trouble, you know what happened last time." I shuddered at the thought. We had crossed the path of two Espada mercenarys, who had found us to be troublesome brats who needed to be shot down. My father now armed my fighter with missels, just in case.

"Chill, Solo," I heard Omen assure me. "we're both armed and ready for a dogfight." She surfaced beside me and gave a thumbs up from where I could see her in the cockpit.

"Says who? I don't wanna fight anybody. With the second war with Belka beginging we're bound to wind up fighting some super skilled mercenary." I clutched my flight stick at the thought.

"You're such a worry wort, I can't believe your the daughter of Solo Wing Pixy." I felt like I wanted to smack her, but I had to focus on flying. "You probably wouldn't live through a dogfight."

"Listen here, just because I don't get hyped from the thought of a fight like you, dosen't mean I'm not a good pilot." I kicked on the afterburners and sped past her.

"Touchy much...do you wanna go home...go be Daddy's little girl."

That was it, I had heard enough. I turned sharply and began to head back towards her. We were going about 1,900 at and altitude of 2,348 feet off the ground. I was on an even course, going head on towards her plane. "First one to roll out buys the after-flight-Cokes." I felt a grin spreading across my face, Omen hated the idea of head on collisions.

"I'm buying!" She yelled and rolled out.

"Whimp." I said shortly. We flew deeper into the airspace, and I began to calm down.

"You ready to head back, it's getting dark and I'm hungry?" I knew better than to mess with a hungry Omen.

"Yeah lets head back." I turned my fighter around and set a steady course for home.

It was quiet, and we were almost to Directuis when a squad of four fighters came up behind us. "Yo...Omen...we got company."

"So I've noticed. Let me do the talking." My mind told me to speed my way out of there, but I stayed on course, letting Omen work her magic. "Omen to fighters, Omen to fighters, do you hear me, over?" She stared at her flight stick waiting for an answer.

"Gelb Team to Omen, we hear you just fine." The pilot was a guy, and his voice was dripping with venom. "What squad to do belong to, over?"

"Uh...we are not members of a squad. We're the daughters of The Demon Lord and Solo Wing Pixy, over." I began to shiver as two of the fighter came up beside me.

"Pilot Two, identify yourself, over." The Gelb leader demanded.

"I'm Solo...Solo Pixy, Sir, over." My hands were shaking, I took a few deep breaths.

"Well, well, well, lets see how skilled these little brats are." The pilot beside me smiled an evil smile.

"Gelb Team...engage!" The leader yelled.

I kicked on my thruster and raced past them, as did Omen. "I'm never letting you _do the talking_ ever again." I said as I tried to keep tabs on the Gelb fighters.

"I totally get that!" I heard the panic in her voice. "What the hell are we going to do!" She asked me.

I could see the Gelb team gaining on us, and it appeared we were going to have to fight. "If I die, you're the one whose going to give me eulogy."

"Can do. She was a great pilot who was stupid enough to turn back and fight four Gelb mercenarys. We honor her moronicness, and pray that she did not burn in hell."

"I like it, needs a tiny bit of work though." I turned my fighter to face the Gelb team. "This is Solo Pixy, over! You better be ready to burn in hell with your planes." I was no longer shaking, I was planning. Planning each take down. I kicked on the afterburners and jolted towards them, locking on to one of the planes.

"Oh look she wants to play with the big boys." The pilot laughed.

I felt my hand tighten around the flight stick, then I locked on to his plane then I fired two missels. I heard his laugh turn to a scream as his plane was engulfed in flames. I felt the urge to not stop there. "No way are you getting away that easily!" I yelled as I spirailed down after him. I shot his plane twice more and it desinigrated.

"Solo...back off...I got the other three on my tail!" Omen was frantic.

"I'm coming!" I yelled and pulled away, leaving the pilot to burn with his plane. "Hey! Gelb...do I look like a little girl now?!" I yelled, as a smile dawned her face.

"She took down Raphale...you little bitch!" I smiled at the compliment.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You shot down a plane?!" I heard Omen yell as she whipped around to attack one of the Gelb members.

"We've gotta protect ourselves, no turning back now!" I yelled back.

"Take her out! We're going to avenge Raphale!" The leader turned and spead after me. We were in a head-to-head position, neither one of us flinching.

"First one to roll out dies!" I yelled. "You better say a quick prayer for your souls sake."

"I'm not afraid of you!" He yelled as he got closer.

We were only inches apart, to the point where I could see the sweat dripping of his face. He rolled out, just in time to avoid me. "Coward!" I yelled and took out his plane with a drop missel. I notice the other two retreating, but that wasn't how I was going to let end . "Come back here cowards!" I thrusted my flight stick to the left so hard I thought it might brake. I closed in on both of them and with a quick switch to my XAML, I took both of them out. As I saw both of their planes go up in flames, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay...Omen...we can go home." I said as I trailed slowly behind her. My mind wanted to shut down, the whole expierence of a dogfight made my brain hurt. I looked at my watch. "OH MY GOD...THAT ONLY TOOK ME LIKE TEN MINUTES!"

"For a first timer that's pretty good, though your father could do better." I jumped back alive at the sound of Ciphers voice. _Straight cold busted...lovely._ I thought.

"REGINA...YOUNG LADY...YOU ARE SO GROUNDED!" My father yelled.

"Dad, not now...I got a major headache...I feel like I'm going to pass out." I saw Cipher and my Dad surface up on both sides of me. They used their wings to hold me up.

"Just keep flying forward." My Dad told me.

"Got it" The words seemed to come out as a sigh.

"Hey...Pixy." Cipher whispered as I closed my eyes. "You got one hell of a mercenary on your hands." I never got to hear the rest, because I passed out.

----

"So you see my friend that is how it all began, but the ending is but a speck on the horizion...the tail of these two aces is far from any other. The tail is a twisted road of destiny, sorrow, fear, betrail, and courage. As I said my friend this is a long tail, but tis the most worthy of telling."


	2. Sparks of War

I jolted awake as my mother laid a warm pack on my head. I felt really dizzy, and could barely speak right. "Mom...where is...plane?" I tried to move, but I was mentally exhausted. _Did that dogfight really take that much out of me?_ I thought.

"Relax...you need to sleep...regain your strength." I noticed my mother gripping my hand rather tightly. She never did like the idea of me flying, and I guess I had pushed her a little past her limit. "So...how do you feel...how did your first dogfight feel." I saw the worry and curiosity in my mothers eyes.

"It was...quite a complicated process...but I won." I firmly gripped her hand. "Don't worry, Mom, I did fine, and I'm still here on this Earth." She rose from my bedside and left me in the peace and quiet of my room. _Alright...I need to do an up to date brain cell count. I don't even know why I was so fierce, why I felt compelled to kill every single one of those fighters. It was so unlike me._ My mind was racing with thoughts, when my Dad entered the room. "Why does my brain hurt so much?" I asked rubbing my temples.

"One: It was your first dogfight. Two: You were under intense pressure for ten minutes. And three: you're not accustomed to that much fierce fighting all at once." My father came and sat on my bed. "Why on Earth were you flying in The Round Table." He gave me that fathering look.

"I don't know, we were just flying. I'm sorry we caused all the trouble but-" He silenced me as he slowly raised his hand.

"You're just like me when I was your age, and the Galm Mercenary Squad has recognized that." I couldn't believe what he was telling me. GALM...where my father and Cipher got their starts, and now they wanted me. "They're willing to take you as a full trained mercenary, so what do you think?" All I could do was nod.

"Good, and don't make the same mistake I did. Stay true to your team...you got that." I nodded as he left my room.

_Galm! But how did they see Omen and I take out those mercenary's._ I got out of my bed and swayed over to my desk. I pulled out my world map and plotted our flight from Directuis. I gasped as I realized what airspace we had flown through. I grabbed my walkie talkie and turned it on. "This is Solo to Omen, do you read me over?" I stared at the walkie talkie, waiting for her to answer.

"Omen...to Solo...roger. Do you have any idea what time it is? Over!" I forgot that on the weekends Omen liked to sleep till one in the evening.

"Time for you to get your butt out of bed! I tracked our flight...guess where we ended up?" I waited again, hoping she hadn't fallen back asleep.

"Where did we end up?" She asked with an irritated sigh.

"B7R!" I yelled. The idea made my mind whirl. We were only first timers and yet we had managed to live through B7R!

"Laugh and say your kidding." Omen was wide awake now.

"No joke!" I yelled getting a little over excited.

"I guess that makes you the Demon Pixy of the Round Table." Omen laughed.

"One other thing," I hesitated in telling her about the Galm thing. "I'm becoming a member of the Galm 66th Air Force Unit." I waited for her reaction.

"No way...me too." She sounded relieved. "Well I'd love to talk about out new jobs, but I smell food. Over and out."

_New job...but we're under aged pilots...this doesn't add up. What's going on...okay somethings fishy._ I was now thinking logically, my headache now gone. I crept down stairs, keeping my footsteps silent. I peeked around the corner into the kitchen where my mother and father were doing the dishes. Since I was four I knew that dish time was chat time.

"Did you explain to her that her being a fighter pilot is due to the draft?" My mother asked, looking extremely stressed.

"No, we'll let her think it's because they saw her fight the Gelb Squad. No need to squash her glory now."

"Glory!" I could see the rage in my mothers eyes. "Surely she will plumit to her death if we send her out there! Tell me Larry, where is the _glory_ in that?!"

"She knows her place in that sky, she is to be a mercenary and that's all there is to it." Dad had made the decision final, no 'ifs' 'ands' or 'buts' about 'it'. 'It' being my drive to fly. My mother threw her dish rag to the floor and ran out of the house. "Tina...come on, don't be that way!" Dad ran out after her.

I crouched where I was, this wasn't going to end well. _If Mom is really that upset about me flying...I guess I could..._ I realized there was nothing I could do_...it's a draft, there's no way out._ I stood up, and slowly dragged my feet up stairs. As I reached my door, I fell against it, and just stayed that way. _To fly...or not to fly, tis this the question I must answer?_ I thought about the first time Dad ever let me fly solo, and that's how I got my ace name. "I am Solo Pixy..." I felt a sudden rush of anger towards my mother. She was not the one to tell me that I didn't belong in the sky, it would be the mercenaries of enemy foreces job. Even then I would still fly, I belonged in the sky. "and no one can stop me, stop me from flying!" I tore open my door. I grabbed the walkie talkie. "Solo to Omen...I'm leaving today." I set the walkie talkie down on my bed and waited for a response as I packed my bags. "I will fly." I kept on reminding myself.

"Omen to Solo...just talk to me...what happened?" She sounded concerned.

"They don't want me to fly...my mom thinks I'm going to die...and _he_ thinks," I couldn't find the right word. The look in my father's eyes when he had said: _"She knows her place in that sky, she is to be a mercenary and that's all there is to it."_ Twas a look of pure sadness. Sadness for my soul. "He thinks I'm going to become him." I felt hot tears begin to sting my eyes.

"Oh man, I'm flying to your house right now...over and out." I heard the beep of the walkie talkie, and that sparked something else. Rage! I was now furious with my mother and father.

I finished packing and made my way out to our little landing base. My father had bought a farm and we had just enough land to have a runway. I waited for a little bit, Omen lived on the other side of the city, so it was like a thirty minute ride over. I could hear her F-14D Super Tomcat, before I saw it. That was one skill of mine, I heard the fighter before I saw it. She landed with ease, then jumped out and ran over to me. I laughed as I noticed a big chocolate bar in her hand.

"Come on." She pulled me to my feet. "If you wanna go...lets go now." She handed me the chocolate bar. "We gotta hurry, my dad trailed me as I took off."

I focused my hearing, and heard his plane coming in. "Too late...he's almost here."

"Fine...to your room." She pulled me into the house, and we ran up to my room. She slammed my door shut and locked it.

I picked up on the worry in Omen's eyes. "What did you do?" I asked in knowing.

She took a deep breath. "I...I told him where I was going, but he told me to stay. I told him we didn't want to have another Avalon incident, and he freaked out."

_Avalon...the final destination..._My thought trailed off as Cipher began bang on my door. "MELONDY...YOU LET ME IN RIGHT NOW!"

"Cipher...lets talk this over." I said calmly. "All that matters is that my dad and you are friends now. There will never be another Avalon...my father was stupid." I thanked God that they were friends again. Cipher had realized how the thought of starting over, was logical, but not the best. My father also realized that, and after a series of letters, they met again and became buddies. Avalon was something that sparked rage within both of them.

Cipher knocked on my door now. "May I come in...give my little girl a hug." We knew better.

"No...go find my mom and dad and I'll let you in." I heard him run off to go find them. "Out the window." I instructed, and together Omen and I slid down the roof to the ground. "We're leaving...now." We grabbed my stuff and took off for the barn were my dad kept my plane. I hoped in, situated myself, and started her up.

Omen was already in the sky. "You're clear for take off." She informed me.

_Goodbye Mom...bye Dad...see you after the war._ I began to move down the runway and was soon in the air._ I will fly, I'm a mercenary._ As I looked back I saw my mother running after my plane. She was crying and blowing kisses as a good bye. I waved to her and then sped away after Omen.

"Pixy to Solo...what the hell are two doing!" My father was at the radio.

"Solo to Pixy...flying to Galm. You think I'm not ready, well I'm going to prove you wrong. Solo to Pixy...over and out!"

----

So it's here where the curtain falls, and uncertainty enters. The ending still but a speck on the horizion. The air filled with enemys, and allies hard to find. This sets the stage for act three.

Destiny.


	3. Fair Game

We flew in silence, nether one of us wanting to say anything. I focused on my piloting and tried to stop gripping my flight stick to a point where I heard it crack. I kept on thinking about my mom and how sad she must be, but my father was what scared me. _He's not afraid to come after me...he'll be hunting me down soon enough._ I clutched my flight stick again, but immediatly loosened up. "Yo Omen...what do you think will happen if we die?" I asked, wanting to get her input on the sitiuation.

"We'll have a funeral, be buried, then forgotten." She sounded about as bummed out as I was.

"My dad once told me that mercenaries like us are considered disposable, if one falls they just bring inanother." I noticed that she was staring at something inside her cockpit. "What cha' looking at?"

"A picture of my mom and dad. You know, they're the reason why I fly. I fly to please my dad and to give my mom something to brag about at work. Why do you fly, you never did tell me?"

_Why do I fly?_ I asked myself. "I don't know...the thrill may be...the glory." I kept that question in my mind as we neared the Galm base. "You can do the talking Omen...I don't think they'll be too enthused to have me onboard the crew." Even though I had been drafted, I was pretty sure everyone there still hated my dad.

"Omen to Galm Base...requesting permission for a double landing." We both waited.

"Galm Base to Omen and Friend...permission granted." With that being said I lined up behind Omen and we landed.

"You ready?" Omen asked as we prepared to climb out of our planes.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said as I climbed out. As I walked over to Omen I noticed a guy making his way towards us.

"You're early, you weren't suppose to report till next week." He informed us. "I'm PJ, and you two are?"

"I'm Omen, real names Melondy. I'm the daughter of the Demon Lord of the Round Table." She shook his hand.

"I'm Solo, real names Regina, and I'm ready to go." I shook his hand, but Omen oviously didn't get why I didn't tell him who my father was.

"She's the daughter of Solo Wing Pixy." She pointed her finger at me. PJ gave me a very dirty look then snatched his hand away.

"I see, then why did you two come together." He asked. "I would assume that the conflict between Cipher and Pixy is still there."

"Your assumption is wrong then, because we're best friends and so are they. The conflict is nothing but a distant memory to them." Omen said as she put her arm around my shoulder. We both smiled at him, proving our point. "We're here to join you're mercenary squad."

He looked at me, then back to Omen. "Very well, lets see what you girls got."

We both looked at each other, then back at him. "I'm afraid I don't follow." I said to him.

"We'll send out four of our best fighters and see what you girls have to offer. You think you can be mercenaries, you gotta prove it to me." He spit at my feet. "You are going to have to really prove yourself, because if it wasn't for her," He jabbed a finger at Omen. "you wouldn't be here."

I lungged at him, wanting to knock his head off his shoulders, but Omen grabbed me and got me into a head lock. "Chill Solo!" She hissed to me.

"You're a fricken bastard, I hope you know that." I hissed at him. "I'm as good as anyone here, reguardless of my ancestoral past. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER AVALON!" I yelled the last sentece as he began to walk away. Omen put all her wait on me and I collapsed to the ground.

"You're not making things any easier on yourself." She hissed into my ear. "Just get in your plane and fly, fly like the mercenary you know you are."

I nodded and she got off me. "I hope he's in that squadron...I wanna blow him to bits." I walked back over to my plane, and climbed back into the cockpit. I dug through my bag and pulled out a picture of my mom and dad. "I fly for our families honor...to honor those who love and respect me."

"Omen to Solo...you ready to fly?" She sounded pumped.

"Sure...why not." I felt cold, merciless. I felt like a mercenary should. I watched as she took off into the sky, then took off after her. The maitnence crew had armed our planes with real missles and other quick adjustments. I kicked on my afterburners and gained altitude. "Be ready for anything, don't be shocked if we get shot down." I instructed.

"Roger that, I'm ready."

We waited, and waited, and waited. I thought they might have screwed us over, but then I heard them. "Be ready, they're closing in!" I informed her. We both turned our planes to face them. "This is Solo to Galm Squad...are you ready for us?" I didn't intend to wait. I suddenly received a missle alert, and thus the dogfight began.

"This is Wild Dog to Solo...the question is: Are you ready?"

I kicked my plane into gear and bolted towards their line. "Omen cover me!" I yelled to her.

"Roger." She flew above me and began to lock on to one of the planes. They dispersed, and flew off in all directions. "I'll take the ones in the air, you take the ones closer to the ground." Omen raced upward after her targets.

I dove through the clouds, straight down. I waited till I was at an altitude of 1,000 before pulling up. "Hey, Wild Mutt, come get me!" His plane dove out of the clouds, racing after me.

"What did you just call me?!" He asked in a furious voice.

"You know what I said, you're a wild mutt that needs to be leashed." He fired two missles but I dodged them easily. One other plane came down in front of me. "Bingo." I locked onto his plane and fired three missles.

All I heard was: "Dude where is she, I can't...AHHH! Mayday Mayday, I'm down! I've been-" Then BOOM!

"DUDE!" I heard Wild _Mutt_ scream. "You bitch!" He yelled at me, and sent two more missles my way.

I got a sudden idea, my father had taught me a manuviore, but it was really dangerous. _It might work, worth a try._ I jolted upward, grabbing the flight stick with both hands. As I got higher I began to spiral, creating heavy air pressure around the plane. Just as I had thought, once I reached a certain altitude with enough pressure, my plane stalled. The nose dipped back and down, giving me the perfect shot at my target. Wild Mutt had followed me, and now my plane was in a downward spiral towards him. I locked on and shot two missles, his plane never stood a chance. "Solo to Omen...I've taken out two of the four planes...do you read me over?"

"Loud and clear, one of my targets dissapeared, I don't know where he went." She sounded worried.

"Well, lookie who's in my sights." He was behind me, so I kicked on my afterburners and sped away. "Don't try and run Tinkerbell, it only makes thing worse."

_Tinkerbell! Oh I'll show you Tinkerbell!_ I turned my plane only to find that in a few more seconds he would be under my plane. I let loose a drop missle and it hit his cockpit. There was no way he was coming out of that alive. "Are all targets confirmed down?" I asked Omen.

"All threat targets have been eliminated."

_Eliminated isn't the word for it...they've been terminated._ As I flew, the third pilots uniform flashed into my head, something wasn't right about it. I searched it, till I reached the patch on his left shoulder...it was a Sorcerer patch not Galm. "Omen...we were targeted."

----

As I said my friend: The air was filled with enemy's and allies hard to find. The wind of realization blew cold upon the faces of the targeted aces. No one was safe and everyone was fair game.


	4. Mercenary of Honor

So my friend have you written down everything nessicary for your report. No...ah, so you wish to see how the tides of battle were to turn. Very well I shall continue. Twas at that moment that...

----

I realized what type of game they were playing. They wanted me out of the mix...permentally. I had one thought about that: _Too bad! I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying in the sky. _I clutched my flight stick and sped towards the base. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!"

"Whoa...cool your jets, Solo." Omen tried to cut me off with no luck. "We don't need you to be charged with murder, not before the war starts!"

"Oh shut up!" I yelled to her. "I'm only going to knock out his front teeth." Just 'cause I know I can't do it, means that I'll have to try.

"Wait till your father gets to base, I'm sure they'll be a fist fight then." Omen wasn't helping any.

I shut off my communications network and flew onward. _Assault Record: Four Gelb Soldiers and Three Socerer Mercenaries...I'm on a role. _I flew straight to base and once I had landed, I marched to PJ's office. I kicked the door open and bardged right in. "So now the oh so trustworthy Glam sends prisioners of war to attack their fighters?! You've hit an all time low, and I've only known you for thirty minutes!" I dove at him, but Omen ran in and skillfully weighted me to the ground. "Get off me...again!" She gave me a quick knock on the head. "OH! You little..." I stopped myself.

"Are you going to be nice to PJ, now?" Omen asked in a childish voice.

"Still wanna knock out his teeth, but if your okay with getting attacked by our own base...sure I'm fine!" I ran out of the office.

"I hope you know that she took out three of the four _Sorcerer_ fighters you sent after us. She deserves this more than me." Omen turned and walked out. "Solo...SOLO...REGINA!"

I kept on walking, I was going to radio my dad. He could knock PJ's teeth out. Correction: He _would_ knock PJ's teeth out. I reached my plane. "Solo to Pixy, do you read me, over." I adjusted my radio till I got him.

"Pixy to Solo, are you okay?" He sounded worried. "They being nice to you over there, kiddo?"

"Is Mom there?" I didn't want her to hear about Sorcerer.

"No...just Cipher and I...tell all."

I took a deep breath. "When we arrived we were greeted by an old pal of yours, does the name PJ ring a bell?"

I heard my dad throw something and walk away. "Are you kidding me! I'm on my way over there!"

"Solo this is Cipher...tell us what happened when we get there." He was about to walk away, but I had to warn them.

"Arm your planes, I'll meet you half way...over and out." I hoped back into my plane and took off down the runway.

"Solo...takeoff is restricted till given permission."

"Oh bite me!" I got off the ground and flew in the direction of my house. "Tell PJ, that the Demon Lord and Solo Wing Pixy are going to make an apperance." I kicked on my afterburners and bolted away. I looked at the picture in my cockpit. "For honor." I looked at my flight stick, I was clutching it again. _Is it the thought of flying that scares me, or who I will become if I become a mercenary. Well we'll find out now won't we. _I clutched my flight stick and flew as fast as I could, practicing roll-ins and roll-outs. I did a few 360's. "Wah Hoo!" I couldn't hold back a scream, this was awsome. I had always been a dead serious pilot and to just fly free from that...was awesome. _It must be dogfights...that's what make my heart clench into my hand. Well looks like I'm going to have to get a stronger flight stick._ I saw my father plane come into veiw, and radioed him. "Follow me back to base, you might get attacked if you're not escorted."

"Tell me what happened?" My father asked as he flew up beside me.

"We were instructed to take flight, so that they could see what we had to offer. Instead of sending out Galm fighters they sent out four Sorcerer fighters, possibly prisoners of war. We took them out, but we believe that their main goal was...to shoot _me_ out of the sky." A wave of sadness engulfed me as I realized that I was already public enemy number one. I wanted to cry, but it would be too embaressing.

"Don't worry Sweety, we'll take care of it. We'll keep you in the sky."

"Oh Dad, I'm afraid of what might happen to me!" My voice was squeaky and sobbish. "I don't want to be shot down, not this early in the game." I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks. "I need some way to bring honor to my name...our name." I hung my head low and let the tears escape from my eyes.

"Stop crying!" Cipher yelled at me. "Pull yourself together Solo, and always remember that no one can take the sky from you, but you can snatch it away from them...little by little." I nodded in understanding. "I'll have a talk with PJ, that should set him straight."

"Or I'll just knock his teeth out, that'll knock some sense into him." My dad had a toothy smile on his face.

I noticed the base was getting closer. "This Solo, Pixy, and the Demon Lord, all of which request permission to land."

"Oh so now you ask for permission...bite me!"

"Alright, we'll just blow through every fighter on that runway." I looked over at my dad who was laughing silently in his cockpit.

"Fine, permission granted." They cleared the runway and it was a clean landing.

We jumped out of fighters to see Omen running towards us. "That PJ dudes creepy...he likes polo...you know, with the horses."

"So I've been told before." Cipher pushed past them along with Pixy.

Omen and I followed silently, and snickered as my dad shut the office door behind him. All I heard was:

PJ: Cipher...Larry...so nice to see you again.

Pixy: Knock off the shit! You've got some explaining to do!

Cipher: Four Sorcerer pilots...how low can you get?! What if they would have shot down my daughter?! What then?!

Pixy: Let me tell you something pip squeak, my daughter came here to fly for Ustio, Osea, and Directus! She flys with more honor than anyother mercenary here! I suggest you treat her as you treat everyone else, because either way she'll still stay and fly. The soul purpose being to prove everyone wrong!

Cipher: I've seen her fly and she is one of the most skilled pilots of her age, she even surpasses my daughter.

PJ: Oh she told on me...bad PJ, bad-

My father picked him up and threw him across the room.

Pixy: You wanna be a smart ass, that's fine with me.

PJ: Fine...fine, I'll treat her equally, but she's not going on any big mission...not yet anyway. I don't trust her...and I don't trust either of you two anymore.

Cipher: One more thing: If you do anything to put our daughters in _pre-meditated_ harms way again, you'll face the wrath of the Demon Lord of the Round Table...Solo Wing Pixy...and their WIVES! You should know by now that an angrie mother is about as close to death as you can get.

The door flung open and Cipher and my dad walked out. "We've got it all taken care of."

"Good." Omen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Solo...Regina...come here for a second." My Dad pulled me aside . "I brought you something." He dug into his pocket and revealed a Galm dogtag. "It has your pilot name on the back...see." He turned it around for me to see. It said:_ Solo. Pilot of F-15E Strike Eagle. Galm Team._ "I made it the other day in the shed, after I got the letter that you were being drafted."

"Whoa...this rocks!" I quickly put it on. "Than you so much Dad!" I hugged him, and he held me in a tight bear hug.

"Fly your way to the top, earn back the honor I depribed you of. Fly like no other pilot would dare to. Make me proud." He whispered the words so softly I thought he may be crying, and he was.

----

A families honor, put upon the shoulders of a mercenary. Every missle fired, every pilot taken down, every successful mission is one step closer to achieving what has been lost. All thoughts of others, nothing but a cloud floating along. Feelings shattered, as the sky fills with the flames of battle, and tokens of honor.


	5. Talon

I lay in bed that night staring at my dogtag, reading it over and over again. I went deep inside my thoughts, which had been pretty scattered for the past couple of hours. _Should I fly and if yes, then why. For what purpose besides honor is there for me to fly._ I read the dogtag again, and instantly my dad's words flashed in my head: _'Fly like no other pilot would dare to. Make me proud.' _I pondered these words for a little while. _My father wishes for me to earn what he lost, he wants me to fly for that reason and that reason alone. Not for the money or glory, but the honor. There is no other purpose for me to fly, except for my own enjoyment._ 'Enjoyment', a word I hadn't used in a while. Since I had turned thirteen I had turned into a dead serous pilot. The accident on my birthday had changed my life, my way of piloting, the way I gripped the flight stick.

---!...Flash back...!---

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REGINA!" I opened my eyes to see all my friends there. Brittney, Mellisa, Luna, Gretch, Jen, and my best friend Melondy.

"Oh my God...I never saw this coming." I pretended to act surprised about the whole party.

"Who are you kidding? You knew all along." Melondy came up and twanged me. "Don't lie."

I rubbed my forehead. "Fine." I looked around for my dad. "Mom, where's Dad? He said he had a surprise for me."

My mom just smiled, then nodded to the sky. "Look to the Heavens."

I peered off into the distance, but I heard it before it came into veiw. "Oh my...oh!" I began spinning around and screaming. "I can't believe this...oh my GOD!" I started screaming some more, of course no one else knew why till the Strike Eagle came into veiw. "Yes, I finally get my own fighter!"

"Fighter?" Brittney, Luna, Mellisa, Gretch, and Jen all looked at me confused.

"OH MY GOD! I TOTALLY GET TO TAKE IT FOR A TEST DRIVE!" Melondy yelled.

"No way in-" My mother shot me a stern look. (Not my fault I have a mercenary's mouth) My dad laned the fighter, and hoped out. My heart raced as I looked at it. It was a deep red with wings painted upon the sides. On the both sides in curvy, script font, was her ace name: Solo.

"Is this a good enough present, because if not we can-" Before my dad could finish I tackled him in a hug. "Go fly, go have fun with your friends." ...

---!...End of Flash Back...!---

_No...I don't wanna think about it._ I shut the image out of my mind. It was soon ovious that sleep was no where upon the horizion, so I got up and walked out to where my fighter was being held. I noticed two other planes in the docking area, aside of mine and Omen's. Two Eagles, one navy blue, the other white. I sat down by my fighter and marveled at it.

"Nice fighter...is it yours?" I heard someone come up behind me.

I jumped up and screamed. When I turned around I was face to face with a blak haired, green eyed hottie. "Uh...yeah...it, it's mine."

"Sorry if I scared you...I couldn't sleep and figured I'd come be with my plane. Uh...what's your name?"

"Uh...Solo...real names Regina." I stuck out my hand and he shook it. "What's your name?"

"Midnight Talon, real names Talon. Sorry again if I scared you."

"Oh it's okay, I scare easily...you said you couldn't sleep?" I asked, tying to break the akward silence.

"Oh yeah...first night alone...you know what I mean."

"Yeah...so which of these fighters is yours?" I asked moving towards the Eagles.

"The navy blue one's mine...it's been through a lot of shit...hard to believe it's still here in one peice." He laughed as if the thoughts were funny. "Your fighters like...spotless...how'd you get here?"

I shot him a dirty look. "My dad was a mercenary here...and I got drafted." I laughed and pushed my brown hair from my face.

"You're the daughter of...Solo Wing Pixy, aren't you." He smirked.

"Yeah...but...how, how-" I stuttered, I hadn't even known him for five minutes.

"PJ...Patrick James, who likes polo...is my dad."

"Oh...that jerk...is your father?" He laughed and shook his head.

"Yes, that jerk is my dad." He walked slowly over to me. "You know I don't normally tell people this, but...he flys like he rides a horse...and trust me, that's not pretty." I began to laugh, but he snapped me back to reality. "I don't normally tell girls this, but you're really beautiful." His smile widened.

I stopped staring into the green-pools-of-intelligence that were his eyes, and cleared my mind. "If you're looking for a good time, you're not going to find it around me." I went to move around him, but he grabbed my shoulder.

"I'm not looking for a good time, I'm looking for a friend. Okay, wrong choice of words. I'm...interested in you...I want to get to know you."

I turned and faced him. "I'm quite a complicated individual, I wish you good luck."

"Complicated...I think I can figure you out...it's like reading a mercenary's style. You like being in control of your plane, and life. You like the idea of speed, but the idea of conflict makes you a little uneasy. Cute on the outside, hard core on the inside. A deticated pilot, who likes a Cola every now and again."

I blinked. "Did you search my plane?"

He laughed. "No, but your plane of choice gave me some clues." His hand pushed my still-hanging-hair from my face. "You like good old boys, who have nothing better to do but talk."

It was my turn to laugh. "I've been nailed to a wall, you're good."

He smiled a dazzeling smile, one that made me smile as well. "I hope I get the chance to fly with you, see what you're made of."

"Yeah, I already have an assault record: Four Gelb soldiers and three Socerer mercenaries. I have your dad to thank for the Socerer mercenaries."

He looked down at the ground. "Yeah about that, I apoligize on my dads behalf, that was totally wrong. If there's anything I can do you just let me know."

"Sure...yeah I will." I took one last look at my plane. "Well I should get back to my room, Omen will wonder where I am."

"Omen...the daughter ofthe Demon Lord of the Round Table." He laughed. "Her name says it all."

Laughing I turned around and bagn to head back to my room, but another guy came around the corner. "Talon...what's this...plotting with the enemy?!"

Talon stopped laughing and started running towards me. "No bro...we were just talking...take it easy."

"Stop where you are!" Talon stopped running, and froze.

"Dude, let her go back to her room." He looked like he was almost begging.

"No...personally, I think she's rather pretty." He tried to reach out and grab me, but I slapped his hand away and began to back away towards Talon. "Fiesty are we? Hmm...I guess you like playing hard to get." I had backed into Talon, but now the other guy was making his way towards me.

"Talon...help me out here."

Talon nodded and stood in front of me. "Tyler come on...back off...you got a girl friend at home."

"That's Frost Bite to you little bro...but the She can call me Tyler." As Tyler began to advance more, I prepared to defend myself. He grabbed Talon's shirt, and threw him aside, like a rag doll. "Little brothers are so weak." He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. "Good thing I'm here to protect you."

Okay, now I know that it's like super rude to kick a guy _there,_ but this was an emergency. I swung my foot back and threw all my force into my leg. He went down like a wall of bricks. "You touch me again and I'll kick you twice for asecond offence, you got that?!"

Talon ran over to me and hurried me away. "If I were you, I'd lock my door for the rest of the night. He's all about revenge."

I nodded. "What about my plane?" I asked.

"He won't touch it...he knows that's too low for him." I nodded again as we came up to my door. "Well it was nice talking to you...I hope we can do itagain sometime...without my brother getting in the way."

"Yeah, me to." I leaned in and gave Talon a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there, it meant a lot to me. I won't be having too many friends here, because of my dad, you know." I was rambling...I always got this way around guys. "I hope we get to see eachother again, and I really do-"

Talon slipped his hand under my chin and pulled my lips to his. After what seemed like a life time (3 seconds) he pulled away. "You talk too much, but that's okay with me."

I began to blush. "Well I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

I opened my bedroom door, ran into the room, slammed the door shut, and locked it. I had just had my first kiss...whoa. I laid back down on my bed and was soon fast asleep. Dreamin of flying with Talon.

----

So you see my friend that destiny and romance go hand-in-hand. Romance turns the paved road of destiny, to a red dirt road, full of mystery and beauty.


	6. Wake Up Call

I awoke to an alarm sounding through the entire building, and Omen knocking on my door. "SOLO...COME ON...WHY THE HELL IS YOUR DOOR LOCKED?" I ran over to the door and unlocked it. "Solo...we got a red alert...Belkan's are coming to attack the base before anymore pilots can get here!"

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as we ran to our fighters. "Do you plan to fly in your pajamas?" I asked her as we ran.

"Nothing wrong with flying comfortably." She said over her shoulder.

I nodded my head in agreement. As we ran into the hangar I found Talon and Tyler climbing into their fighters. "Hey Talon!" I waved and he waved back.

"You know him...explanation needed...now?" I laughed and shook my head.

"I'll tell you later, Omen." I hopped into my fighter, and prepared to take flight.

"Attention all fighters, this is AWACS Blizzard, the enemy's are approaching base. 500 miles in counting."

"Thanks for the info on the foefoe, but it's to early for this." Talon sounded irratated.

"After what happened last night young man you better bag a bandit, Little Man!" PJ yelled over the network.

_Little man! PJ has no respect for his younger son!_ I yelled in my head.

"Frost Bite...go get 'em!"

"Roger that." He shot me a ridiculous smile.

"Solo...just come back in one piece, so I don't get pumbled by your father."

"I might come back without a wing, but that'd be ironic." I sounded bored, just to tick him off.

"ONE PIECE SOLO!" I threw off my helmet as he screamed into my headset. "Omen...may the Demon Lord's spirit be with you."

"It no longer lives on in me...I believe it lives in Solo...she's the Solo Demon of the Skies." I was shocked. Omen had never lowered herself from her fathers name, never.

"Thanks Omen." I gave her a thumbs up.

"Don't be ridiculous Omen, the only thing that lives on with her are the mistake of her father." I wanted to smack PJ so hard it would wake up his dentist.

"Shut up PJ, you wouldn't know skill if it came up and bit you in the ass." Omen was just full of surprises today.

"Ladies leave the arguing for later, right now I would like to suggest that someone take off!" AWACS oviously wasn't liking our bickering, I'd remember that for later.

"Solo...taking off!" Without thinking I drove my plane out of the hangar and onto the runway. I kicked on the thrusters and raced down the lane, and once I was reaching the end I pulled hard on the flight stick and jolted upward. "Who's next?" I asked as my adreniline rush hit.

"Talon, preparing to take off...I'll be your wingman okay." I was a little hesitiant since I was normally Omen's wingman...correction: wingwomen. "Don't worry my brother said he'd cover your friend." Why did I not find that reasuring. "He's a good wingman, he won't let her get shot down."

"Question being, are you a good wingman?" I asked smartly.

"Yes. Are you a good fighter?"

"Damn straight." I watched as Omen and Frost Bite took off. "Okay guys, and my friend, lets go bag some bandits."

"You're actually excited...about fighting...do you have a fever?" Omen asked, sounding shocked.

"No, I have a family honor to return." My voice trailed off into nothing, no one had a reply to that.

"Enemy's 200 miles, they should come into veiw soon." AWACS declared.

"They're to our left...we need to take a left turn or we'll be right in their sights."

I heard the shocked voice of Frost Bite come over the network. "How would you know that they aren't even on radar yet?"

"I have super sonic hearing...now take a left turn." We all turned left. We flew for a little bit longer, everyone was quiet.

"Solo...what happens if...if we don't make it out of this?" Omen asked sounding worried. "I don't know why...but the thought popped into my head. I-I don't want to die...I have a good life ahead of me. I don't know why I'm so worried." I could see her shaking her head in her cockpit.

"If we don't make it out of this...we died doing what we love to do...we died as pilots who were willing to risk their lives to see Belka finally destroyed." I gave her a thumbs up. "You got that? Now lets go give these pilots some gray hair...a full head of it!"

"Cha' Dude...lets go...I'm psyched." She sped ahead and began to do 360's. "Let's push it to the limit, cause we're in it to win it." We both began to sing Push It To the Limit, just to keep our spirits up. Talon even joined in.

"You're all nuts...SHUT UP!" His brother yelled, but we ignored him.

"Enemy is 100 miles away, you are free to engage." AWACS informed us.

"Okay yo, we're going to show 'em what we're made of...GALM HAS NO SOLDIER...NO KNIGHTS...ONLY MERCENARIES!" Talon yelled.

_Only mercenaries, is that all we're to these people?_

_----_

Only mercenaries...the only mercenary...who will fly high into the sky, and into the flames of war.


	7. Time to Take Flight

"The enemy is within missle range, Galm Team, take the first shots!" AWACS yelled.

"Listen Frosty Earwax we don't need you breathing down our necks, okay. We'll handle this just fine on our own." AWACS, unlike my comrads, didn't seem to like what I had to say.

"You wanna die out there that's fine by me, one less brat to handle." I heard him beep out of the network, he had left us on our own.

"Now see what you've done, now we have no guidance! HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO KNOW OUR POSITION ON THE ENEMY?!" Frost Bite wasn't exactly all that enthused.

"We'll use..." _I don't know what to do! _What have_ I gottin' us into?!_ "We'll use my hearing. I'll be able to give you a estimated where abouts of the target."

"We're all going to die!!!" Frost Bite yelled.

"Just listen to my directions and you'll stay alive." I said calmly. "Okay...we've got a small squadron of...eighteen."

"YOU CALL THAT SMALL!" He yelled.

"I've seen worse case senario's."

!...Flash Back...!

"Is this a good enough present, because if not we can-" Before my dad could finish I tackled him in a hug. "Go fly, go have fun with your friends."

"Yes Sirey Bob!" I saluted him and ran off to the fighter. "Who wants to go for a ride first?" I asked gesturing to my friends.

"ME...OHH OOH...PICK ME...PICK OMEN!"

"Okay Omen, hop on in." Together we climbed in, with me at the controls. "Are all systems go?" I asked.

"You know it, now come on, I wanna get this thing off the ground." I quickly turned on my afterburners and sped down the run way. "WAH HOO!" Omen screamed.

I pulled back onthe flight stick and the fighter jolted into the air. "This is the best birthday present ever! Solo to Pixy do you read me over?" I waited.

"You're flying like a champ girlfriend. Keep that steady pace going."

"Roger that." We flew high into the air, making sure we weren't to low at our altitude level. "It's so pretty up here." I comented looking out my window.

"You know it." Omen commented. We relaxed for a little bit, and it was then I made the hugest mistake of my life. I let go of the flight stick! "Why are the clouds moving upward?" Omen asked.

"Huh...shit!" We had gained too much downward speed, we were in some major trouble. "Omen...the flight stick won't budge!" I pulled as hard as I could. "COME ON!" We were out of the clouds and making steady pace for ground. "OMEN AND SOLO TO PIXY...MAYDAY MAYDAY, WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" I pulled hard on the flight stick.

"Altitude 400 ft!" Omen yelled.

"SOLO...WHAT HAPPENED...SOLO DO YOU READ ME?!"

"Altitude 200 ft!" Omen screamed.

My mind was strained, I was pulling as hard as I could, it just wouldn't move.

"100 FEET...SOLO!"

I jerked back in my seat, strained my arm muscles, and pulled. The figter jolted upward and became almost even with the ground. I released the landing gears, and we landed in the corn feild. "This is Solo to Pixy...I-I don't want to fly anymore today."

!...End of Flash Back...!

"EARTH TO SOLO! HEY, TINKERBELL, ARE YOU LISTENING?!"

"Huh...oh, yeah...umm..." I looked out my window looks like the dogfight had started without me. "Omen bogie on your right!"

"Roger."

"Talon bogie...behind you."

"Roger, do you need me to cover you?"

"No, you're free to disperse."

"Copy that."

"Frost Bite...what are you blind...he's right in front of you Frosty!"

"I can't shake 'em."

"Allow me to help you with that." I tore away from the group to go find other fighters and took off after Frost Bite. This was going to be a big dog fight. I could sense it in the air, could feel it in my flight stick.

----

A mercenaries heart, now strong as is the mind and soul, but all must be tested in time.


	8. Bomber

**Chapter 7**

"The enemy is within missile range, Galm Team, take the first shots!" AWACS yelled.

"Listen Frosty Earwax we don't need you breathing down our necks, okay. We'll handle this just fine on our own." AWACS, unlike my comrades, didn't seem to like what I had to say.

"You wanna die out there that's fine by me, one less brat to handle." I heard him beep out of the network; he had left us on our own.

"Now see what you've done, now we have no guidance! HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO KNOW OUR POSITION ON THE ENEMY?!" Frost Bite wasn't exactly all that enthused.

"We'll use..." _I don't know what to do! _What have_ I gotten' us into?!_ "We'll use my hearing. I'll be able to give you a estimated where about of the target."

"We're all going to die!!!" Frost Bite yelled.

"Just listen to my directions and you'll stay alive." I said calmly. "Okay...we've got a small squadron of...eighteen."

"YOU CALL THAT SMALL!" He yelled.

"I've seen worse case scenario's."

!...Flash Back...!

"Is this a good enough present, because if not we can-" Before my dad could finish I tackled him in a hug. "Go fly, go have fun with your friends."

"Yes Sirey Bob!" I saluted him and ran off to the fighter. "Who wants to go for a ride first?" I asked gesturing to my friends.

"ME...OHH OOH...PICK ME...PICK OMEN!"

"Okay Omen, hop on in." Together we climbed in, with me at the controls. "Are all systems go?" I asked.

"You know it, now come on, I wanna get this thing off the ground." I quickly turned on my afterburners and sped down the runway. "WAH HOO!" Omen screamed.

I pulled back on the flight stick and the fighter jolted into the air. "This is the best birthday present ever! Solo to Pixy do you read me over?" I waited.

"You're flying like a champ girlfriend. Keep that steady pace going."

"Roger that." We flew high into the air, making sure we weren't to low at our altitude level. "It's so pretty up here." I commented looking out my window.

"You know it." Omen commented. We relaxed for a little bit, and it was then I made the hugest mistake of my life. I let go of the flight stick! "Why are the clouds moving upward?" Omen asked.

"Huh...shit!" We had gained too much downward speed, we were in some major trouble. "Omen...the flight stick won't budge!" I pulled as hard as I could. "COME ON!" We were out of the clouds and making steady pace for ground. "OMEN AND SOLO TO PIXY...MAYDAY MAYDAY, WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" I pulled hard on the flight stick.

"Altitude 400 ft!" Omen yelled.

"SOLO...WHAT HAPPENED...SOLO DO YOU READ ME?!"

"Altitude 200 ft!" Omen screamed.

My mind was strained, I was pulling as hard as I could, it just wouldn't move.

"100 FEET...SOLO!"

I jerked back in my seat, strained my arm muscles, and pulled. The fighter jolted upward and became almost even with the ground. I released the landing gears, and we landed in the cornfield. "This is Solo to Pixy...I-I don't want to fly anymore today."

!...End of Flash Back...!

"EARTH TO SOLO! HEY, TINKERBELL, ARE YOU LISTENING?!"

"Huh...oh, yeah...umm..." I looked out my window. L_ooks like the dogfight had started without me_. "Omen bogie on your right!"

"Roger."

"Talon bogie...behind you."

"Roger, do you need me to cover you?"

"No, you're free to disperse."

"Copy that."

"Frost Bite...what are you blind...he's right in front of you Frosty!"

"I can't shake 'em."

"Allow me to help you with that." I tore away from the group to go find other fighters and took off after Frost Bite. This was going to be a big dog fight. I could sense it in the air, could feel it in my flight stick.I zoning in on his fighter, when I noticed who he couldn't shake. Another fighter had appeared from behind him and was now attempting to gun down his fighter. I simply locked my missiles onto the target and fired. BAM! He was out of the sky.

"Galm Team, this is AWACS Blizzard, do you read me."

"Loud and clear Frosty Blizzard, what's the sitch, were you lonely?" Talon seemed to be having fun taunting now, I'd leave that to him.

"No, your team needs to get out of there! We've detected a stealth bomber, and it's got its eyes on you!" My blood ran cold, my father had told me about a giant stealth bomber that the Belkan's had tried to use on the Galm base.

_Oh God, be with me now, for what I'm about to do is very stupid._ I beeped out the network and took off into the clouds. The stealth bomber had to be high in the air, and its escort was receiving hell from our team below. I was taking the issue of the bomber into my own hands. _This one's for you Dad. _I flew higher and higher, and then I saw it. Big, black, and totally hidden within the safety of the clouds. Suddenly Omen pushed her way through to my central network breaking through my block out so we could talk.

"Where the hell are you?" She asked, not sounding too worried.

"I'm taking on that stealth bomber, it's in my sights." I began to close in and locked on. _First the cockpit._ BAM! _Done._

"Are you-and pardon my French-fucking crazy! Get your honorable ass back here, before it becomes a burned ass."

"This is what's going to earn me my honor back!" _Second, the wings, thrusters, and any accompanied missiles. _

"No, you're not going to earn your honor back by taking out some huge bomber that no one could possibly take out on their own."

I took out the last thruster and began the third phase. _The central circuit._ BOOM! One drop bomb was all it took The bomber was now in flames and losing major altitude, quickly.

"What the…how did you…wow!" It was in Omen's sights.

_Phase four, the storage unit. Bye, bye bomber._ I zoomed in below the bomber and flipped my fighter up side down. _Here we go! _My missiles were locked on, but I was coming out of this in style. I was directly under the storage unit. _Fire!_ The missile was an obvious direct hit. The whole bomber was engulfed in flames, and as I zoomed out it plummeted to the ground. "One thing Omen: You said it couldn't be done. News flash: I just did it."

"Girl, that was off the chain. That was way out there. That was amazing." Omen's fighter appeared beside my.

"I guess it's all a part of being a mercenary, we do what others can't." I beeped back into the network in time to hear.

"This is Midnight Talon to Solo. THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME! And the escort has been taken out thanks to Frosty Blizzard's guidance."

"Roger that. Lets get back to base."

----

Mercenary's who do what other's can't. Those are the true fighters in the sky, but for every skilled take down comes envy. And with envy come conflict.


	9. Tension Wire

We flew down the runway and into the hangar. More fighters were showing up and we were welcomed with hoots and hollers as we exited our unscathed fighters. I ran over to Talon who scooped me up in an unexpected hug. "You were awesome…brilliantly skilled." I laughed as he twirled me around.

A throat was cleared and we both turned to find Omen staring at us. "Ya gonna introduce me Solo?"

Talon set me down and turned to face Omen. "Name's Talon…the other fighter is my brother Tyler. It's a pleasure to meet you…?" He stuck out his hand and waited for her to answer.

"Real name's Melondy, but I go by Omen." She took his hand and shook it once, before letting go.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Omen." He returned his gaze to me. "Way to work the flight stick Solo."

"Thanks." I leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "It means a lot coming from you." With a small giggle I ran off after Omen, who had begun the long walk back to her room. I grabbed her shoulder as I caught up to her. "Whada' ya think of him?"

"He's cute, polite, and totally for you." She said shrugging off my hand. "But lets get back on topic…" She shot me a gaze that could have cut me in half. "You went after that bomber, and didn't even ask for back up, you might as well have committed suicide. Don't do anything like that ever again without me, Solo, you're ruining both of our reputations."

It was my turn to glare. "I just upped our squad, and this is the response I get…more importantly from you. Come on, Omen…you of all people should understand why I'm doing all of this. Honor…my families honor."

"NO! Your fathers lost honor…you just want to impress him! You don't care about any of us! All except your _friend_ Talon!" She turned away and began to walk away, but I knew how to stop her.

"_We gotta hold on to what we got_

_It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not_

_We got each other and that's a lot for love_

_We'll give it a shot!_

_Oh we're half way there_

_Oh livin' on a prayer_

_Take my hand _

_We'll make it I swear_

_Oh livin' on a prayer!"_

She slowly turned to face me. "Bon Jovi's…"

"Livin' on a Prayer." I beat her to it. "I hear this song every single time I take to the sky. The story of Tommy and Gina and how they stood strong…even when the odds were against them, that's my song."

She looked at the floor for a while. "Well looks like you're a Gina without a Tommy." She turned and began walking to her room.

Tears began to sting my eyes before rolling down my cheeks. A soft hand moved across my shoulders and brought me into a hug. I recognized Talon's warmth and caring. "I'll be your Tommy." He whispered softly as he stroked my hair.

I gave a weak laugh. "Thank you, Talon…Tommy."

"No prob Gina." He hugged me tighter, then let me go. "So you like Bon Jovi?"

"Love him…Sugarland too." He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me down the hall. "Did you ever see the rerun of their 2005 concert on CMT Crossroad. It may seem ancient but it's really good. The two bands just melt together and the music sounds beautiful."

"Sort of like that singing you were just doing, it was the most beautiful things to ever grace my ears. If Omen ever gets over this you and her should do a duet." He began to laugh. "Though I don't know what song the two of you could sing without it seeming very awkward."

I slapped him hard on the head. "Duh…Lady Marmalade."

He recovered from his swipe and looked at me. "Jeez, you really do like the classics don't ya? I guess that's another thing we have in common." He brought me into his arms once more. "I've been searching for someone like you for a long time."

"Oh really, had any luck."

"Not till now."

_Omen's POV_

_How could she do something so incredibly stupid?! Why would she risk her life knowing there was 99.9 percent chance she was going to be killed?!_ "My own thoughts are frustrating me, this is sad." I sat down on my bed. It wasn't like Solo to act like this. Every since the incident on her thirteenth birthday she'd been very cautious and had never liked to take risks. Yet she had taken on a bomber and succeeded, she hadn't even asked for any back up. _This honor concept has totally gone to her head; she'll never restore herself by doing stupid things._ I miss my honor less friend, the friend who found honor in flying with the Demon Lords Daughter. I want my sidekick back.

_TALON! Talon took her from me! He wants her all for himself…of course! He's the one causing this outrageous behavior, he's the one trying to get her away from me! _It all made sense to me now, it was all Talons fault, he'd done this to Solo. He's been the one to scoop her up and tell her that her stupid action was the best flying he'd seen in a long time. SHE'D KISSED HIM ON THE CHEEK, BEFORE COMINIG AFTER ME! Well, twas about time he learned how hurtful his game really was, let the mind bending begin. Solo you're about to be my sidekick once more, regardless of whether you want to or not. Force or no force.

_Solo's POV_

I could feel some form of disturbance in the air, a sense of tension between two people. _Omen! What's she up to? Well whatever it is it can wait._ Talon was guiding me to his room where he kept a very colorful collection of old CD's. I was so excited to be sharing music thoughts with Talon, and it felt as if nothing could tear us apart, even an angry Omen didn't stand a chance. This was a fast pace love, working in the fast lane.

_----_

The engines of desperation and hate are being fed mor oil. Only a skilled pilot can maneuver through such a death trap and come out unscathed.


End file.
